Seasons of Love
by cartoongeek13
Summary: Prince Joseph was a ruler with a frozen heart who looked after his father's kingdom. The masses wanted to oust King Slade and replace him with his kinder son, by getting him married before the king returned. Many women had tried to make the prince fall in love, but none had succeeded, until Lady Nickole did something treacherous. Jerikole (high T for prostitution & abuse)
1. Winter

**AN: This is a fairytale story which I've been working on for awhile. Hope you like it. :P**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own TT.**

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Winter

"I'm the prince of this place." The one and only Prince Jericho spoke evenly. "Speak your name and your purpose, noble Lady."

"Jericho": a term of sympathy coined by the Second-Prince's adoring subjects. A name to reflect a guarded heart, one that the soft-spoken prince himself claimed was trapped in frigid ice. It had been physically ensnared by the cold menace, the prince said, after his brother's and his mother's sudden deaths. First-Prince Grant had died to his warrior pride; and Queen Adeline had died for her grief shortly after him.

Prince Jericho's father, the king, had died in a sense after his wife, and had fled to the East for peace of mind. Guilt hung over him still even there, like a malicious cloud threatening to pour cold rain on him forever, because his beloved son had died.

Grant had died practically by his hand! By the missed presence of his guiding hand, his favorite heir had fallen. Grant's vice had always been pride, and until his dying day King Slade had been there to chain him back down to earth, where he was mortal. However, in the heat of battle that day, far from his homeland and its king's watchful eye, Grant had esteemed himself as more god than man. Throwing himself deeper into the frenzy of battle, and deeper into a frenzy of bloodlust of the mind, the ill-fated prince had scarcely blinked before finding himself impaled upon the golden spear of the enemy. With a bloody cough, the first-prince then gathered strength enough to drive his sword through his murderer's stomach and entrails. After that revenging act, First-Prince Grant lived not a second more.

The first-prince's herald relayed that heroic story to the noble parents and only brother of the dearly departed. Second-Prince Joseph took a vow of silence for weeks after the news was broken to him. He kept his silence even while watching his mother fade back to the dust from whence all mankind is rumored to have sprung. When death finally consumed Queen Adeline, the sensitive youth did allow words to rip out of his mouth, although every syllable he spoke condemned his fragile conscience. With every painful utterance, images of his mother, who he had selfishly neglected during her final days, appeared before his mind's eye. Even basic servant-master interactions tortured the second-prince.

Being the only enduring son of their king, the common masses assumed, rather presumptuously, that King Slade would turn his face to his remaining son and love him more than ever before, as grief over a loss or over many losses can sometimes breed intense love for what remains. But Joseph had been a mother's son, not a father's mirror image. Second-Prince Joseph had erred often to show mercy from the throne, a philosophy that stood against the reigning king's unpopular iron-fist policy. Grant had understood righteous judgment, and even consistency in law enforcement, but Joseph so highly favored mercy above simple judgment. So Joseph was not fit to rule in his stead.

Regardless of his opinions about his only son, King Slade had left the lad in charge of the Kingdom Wintergreen a year prior, while he traveled.

Seizing the opportunity, the masses petitioned for, nigh demanded that the second-prince claim the crown while his father tarried in the Orient. The humble young man did resist, but the people pressed him in overwhelming force for a year - so hated was his father! Prone to leniency and compromise, Second-Prince Jericho finally struck a deal with them, pledging: "Once I am married, then I will rule you, but not before then. It's the custom to be married first. So find me a woman to melt my heart and heat my blood, and then I will usurp my king."

His proposition put the people in a bind. They perceived that the most exotic of women never made his knees weak. Prince Jericho knew that his subjects were oblivious of his preferences, and that they would never see his eyes stick to a pretty lady's back, although he might indulge his senses right in front of the masses.

In the young man's heart, love and respect for King Slade restrained him from the kingship, and marriage by extension. In his heart, the prince had already decided to remain lesser than his father and preserve his seat for him. But, having sensed a revolution in the making, Prince Jericho acted against his intentions and made a bargain with the people so they would be content while the smart prince waited anxiously for King Slade to return.

All manner of noblewoman came into the prince's presence intent to marry during his long wait, and just as many were sent away from him. Desperately, the masses flung their own daughters at his feet, and pledged that they would be as slaves if he would only marry them and take the throne! The prostitution disgusted Jericho, who then wrote into law that no prince, then or thereafter, could marry a common woman. If anything would bring hysteria and heartlessness to his land, the prince would blot it out with his royal pen.

But the terrible acts of prostitution sowed doubt and bitterness in Prince Jericho's heart where sympathy and kindness usually stood. The boy caught himself directing more resentment toward his beloved father than care. The love of a son did remain, but all tenderness seemed to flee from King Slade's memory and find rest with the commoners. How the common people detested Slade and feared his return! Was there no reason for the people's hatred and fear, or too many reasons to cite? Had his king's policies fallen to corruption, and his reign also to evil?

Curiosity mounting, Jericho combed over legal documents such as tax laws, land rights bills, and so many declarations of war that his head spun, all to find a sliver of goodness done in his father's kingly name. The study revealed needless wars and King Slade's warlust, which both sickened Jericho. The toll constant war had on the industries, resources, and young men of Wintergreen was unforgivable - unforgivable! Wintergreen was a kingdom built on the skeletons of warriors, average soldiers, and victims! Never _once_ had peace reigned along with King Slade!

Upon that revelation, something beneath the prince's rib cage clenched, and he fainted there in the study. He awoke days later to see a nurse seated near him, who jumped when he rose from his bed.

"Truly, we believed you were dead!" she had said breathlessly. "Your body was stone cold, and the doctor couldn't find a heartbeat!"

A thought had then occurred to the prince, a way out of his pact with the people. It would prey on their presumptions, really depend on them, but now he was as desperate for revolution as they were.

"When my brother and mother first passed..." he began uneasily, "I sought out an avenue to resurrect them. I had heard of the witch Raven who camps in the caves on the western border, and of her great magical power; so I sought her out, and found her. A favor I asked, but a curse she gave me: an icy cage that has trapped my heart. It is the reason why I have yet to marry, because how can I love anyone with a frozen heart?"

The nurse answered in distress, "Impossible! How will you take the throne?"

"By treason, I fear, and quickly, before my father returns through the East Gate or I lose my nerve. Whichever comes first!"

Shortly after that, Prince Jericho had discovered by messenger that his father had arrived through that very gate weeks prior. His pact with the people, which he had written as a covenant and officially sealed with the family crest, became the prince's sole option for toppling his father's reign legally. As a document sealed by the reining family member, it held weight enough to crush King Slade's seat on the throne.

If Prince Joseph tried to overthrow the king by himself while Slade lived within his kingdom's borders, civil war was assured. With the people and the law on his side, however, the crown was as good as his, so Joseph finally resigned to marry.


	2. Spring

**AN: Welp, here's Spring! I hope you've noticed that each title season corresponds with events happening in its chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own TT.**

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Spring

Prince Jericho sat stiffly in his high-backed chair, and let himself be distracted by anything except the words of the noblewoman before him. This was a facet of his and the masses' agreement, to endure throngs of women who desired to be his wife. Many of them, he knew, hailed from kingdoms his father had overthrown, kingdoms that had become commonwealths under his thumb. Looking beyond the beauty of their faces, past their sparkling eyes, Prince Jericho saw malice and thickly veiled hatred. It would delight them to poison him, run him through with a hidden dagger, bludgeon him to death, or have him quartered in the main street. The clever prince would not entertain them.

The noble beauty, who hailed also from a commonwealth, peered at him curiously, since he hardly spoke a word.

The prince stared back, drinking in her appearance. Her accessories were each studded in illustrious jewels, so that her hair, dress, and feet flashed as she swayed nervously in the sun. Her body language spoke of fluid mountain streams, and her eyes pleasantly reminded him of a deep, dark ocean. Her styled hair was a ruby itself, and her parted lips matched the hue of the cloudiest rose quartz.

"Are you finished?" he inquired of her.

"Have you learned everything that you need to make a decision?" The woman's question was a tentative probe.

"You've forgotten your name."

"Lady Nickole, of North Tower, formerly the Arc Kingdom. Your forces conquered us many years ago, and we were renamed as a territory because of our small numbers. Hardly anyone survived the war."

Prince Jericho grimaced, remembering his father's archived report on the 'steppingstone Arc'. What the people there in the North called a war, his father's generals had put on the record as one battle of many. "I detect no hostility from you, for a conquered woman."

"I can't remember a free country, as our elders can, so I can't very well long for one. And remember that it is _you_ who will rule, not me, if you do choose to marry me. It would be foolish of me to fight you then to free the North, being only a wife. Even to fight you for only North Tower's freedom could give you the grounds to kill me."

"I wouldn't fret about politics."

Another uninterested man, Lady Nickole realized. Although, what was Prince Jericho's reason for looking expectantly past her to the next woman in line? All the men of North Tower had good reason to hate her because of her father's betrayal during wartime, she readily acknowledged that, but the icy prince staring down at her knew nothing of her or of her father. Perhaps hearing of Doctor Weathers' traitorous deed would endear her to the monarchy, but she would never tell proudly of that. Besides, it was her people who wished for her to be close to Prince Joseph, whether to whisper favors for them in his ear or plunge a knife through it Nickole blanched to consider. Her heart had never been in this failed courtship, whatever they wanted.

After a depressed sigh, she knelt to curtsy. "Thank you for your ti-"

To every onlooker's horror, Prince Jericho staggered from his chair and fell flat to the ground, a hand pressed to his chest.

"His heart!"

"The prince's frozen heart will kill him!"

Panicked voices flooded Lady Nickole's ears. Like most of the conquered peoples of Wintergreen, she had heard of the prince's cursed heart. Nickole had scarcely hoped to become queen because of the legend. The common people of the North also knew of his heart's disability, but they also despised her.

"The prince is desperate," they had schemed, "He must be desperate to replace his father. His agreement with the people reveals his lust for power. If he marries, all power will be his! Opportunity wanes fast, and he must marry! So let us take the most despised among us, let us steal away his only child, and prostrate her in front of Prince Jericho. She will wear all of our jewels, so the prince will notice her and find her most beautiful. Then, after the happy reception, we will threaten the doctor's life if the new queen does not meet our demands. She will have no loving husband to protect her, since the prince's heart prevents him from loving, so she will fear and obey us."

Lady Nickole knew their scheme. Her countrymen only told her that the reason behind the jewels was to make her beautiful to the prince, so he would take her and they could be rid of her. Knowing well their malice for her and the crown, the rest of their terrible plan laid bare before her.

Thwarting them could wait. At the moment, the young lady's mind was fixed only on Prince Jericho and his condition. As the educated daughter of a doctor, she could not let the illness take him while she watched.

"Excuse me!" She commissioned a guard, saying, "Please, help me remove my jewelry. There will be a way to save the prince's life if you do."

The palace soldier needed no further convincing, and set herself to the task.

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 **AN: As I read this through a final time, I noticed that my Spring theme is not as noticeable as my Winter theme was. Kole is Spring. Boom. Explained. OR, if you wanna look at it in terms of _romance,_ Kole's heart is kind of melting for Prince J right at the end. In true hero fashion, she wants to save him. **

**But can she save him?**

 **Of course. This is a fairytale. OF COURSE she'll save him. But how? Will I break down and finally pencil some ROMANCE into this fic?**

 **Find out NEXT SATURDAY, when I update with my Summer chapter!**


	3. Summer

**AN: Okay... I have to babysit on Saturday, so I updated early. This chapter delves into Lady Nickole's home life, and it has some mature themes.**

 **Thanks, PhoenixFlight, for reviewing. :)**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own TT.**

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Summer

"One giant sun-catcher..." The palace craftsman had followed Lady Nickole's orders exactly.

Every jeweled piece had been arranged and hammered into one great, shining conglomerate. Thin plates of iron separated each gem individually, and bonded them yet. So fine was the workmanship that the grey lines were invisible.

"This was your design," said the craftsman.

"Yes. Now will you string it up in the sun?" Victor Stone, the craftsman, carried out her request with the guard's help.

The two were revered throughout the Kingdom Wintergreen for their strength, Pantha more than Victor. Their struggle to lift the thick circle spoke well of its weight and wealth, and better of Lady Nickole's sacrifice. She looked naked to the people without her jewelry, clothed simply in a solid blue Sunday dress and dirty white shoes.

"Although her jewels have gone out from her," a minstrel observed, "her face glows independently with the purity of kindness."

"Yes," another onlooker agreed. "Kind heart!"

But the women of the commonwealths grumbled, and pulled Nickole aside to ridicule her in secret. "You idiot! Short-sighted girl! Why do you work so traitorously by helping the prince? Was stripping your father of his title not a sufficient warning to you that you should obey us?"

"You voided his title? If you have, I was never informed."

"Yes," they hissed, "and you are of no power to reclaim it. Since you have chosen to walk the traitor's God-forsaken path, like your father, we see no use in stringing you along anymore. As we have stripped the doctor of his nobility, we strip you of yours now; as we have banished your father, we will banish you; and as we have punished your father in prison, we will punish you. Now, wish us luck so we will succeed where you have failed."

Blood rushed to Nickole's face. "Banished and in jail? Which jail?"

"One outside the kingdom limits, where there is no law ensuring the just treatment of prisoners."

"I will follow?"

"If we have our way."

"Then it can't be helped. But first, let me have my way and do one more good thing before I'm thrown to the dogs."

Not waiting for an answer, Nickole rushed to Prince Jericho, grabbed him under the arms, and dragged him to the desired spot. Her suncatcher caught and focused the sunlight on that one spot, and Nickole turned Joseph's body so the amplified rays struck his chest more directly. The prince awoke in her arms with a warm feeling in his chest. Warmth penetrated his muscles, even his heart, and soothed his chest pains so he could sit upright on his own.

Since he had been unconscious all the while, Prince Joseph asked, "What is that?" referring to the multicolored disc hanging from his palace ceiling.

"A gift," Nickole answered in a murmur, so her people could not hear. "I'll be thrown to the dogs when I return to the North, because of my kindness toward you. My people wish death for me, so I take what they gave me to seduce you, all their precious stones, and give them to you. Do what you want, only don't marry a Northerner. The crown is despised where I live, and my father too. He assisted your kingdom's forces during the war by revealing where our own king lived, and he has been punished severely for it; and me too, by extension. As I speak, he has been moved to a prison outside Wintergreen's borders, where inmates are treated inhumanely. That is where they will send me, so that me and my father can die together.

"But if my act of loyalty has gained me any favor, let me remain here in the capital as a servant to a noble family. None of my countrymen know what they've done, how they have made it painful for me to live in my own home. My father is terrible, and beats me as well as any slave master or prison guard could, where the bruises are unlikely to be seen. If I were an indecent woman, I would open the back of my dress so you could bear witness to my father's cruelty. But if what I have done today has melted your heart so you could care about me, do not send me back to the North!"

Prince Joseph smiled a sincere little smile. "Wouldn't your title as lady complicate that? You can't be a noblewoman and a servant all at once."

"My title has been stripped away by my people, who hate me."

"Only because they hate you?"

"Ask them."

The prince called over the women who had threatened Nickole, and their cohorts, every woman from the northern territories. He asked first, "Has Lady Nickole's title been stripped?"

Their answer, that Nickole was no longer a noble to her people, was given honestly.

"What has she done to have her honor removed from her, except help me, the present ruling power of this kingdom? Don't you know that her kind action has endeared her to the crown, which has more title-giving authority than all the governors of your territory? I swear, if she has done nothing else wrong in your sight, other than saving my life, I will reinstate her title and marry her today."

About his promise, the people began to whisper. A wise man asked, loud enough that Prince Joseph could hear, "King Slade has returned through the East Gate. By law, no matter if he is physically absent from his seat, he is the ruling power again. Has Prince Jericho forgotten that only the current king can grant titles?"

Prince Joseph had overstepped, being more devious than he appeared, and was caught. Another route to Nickole's nobility would have to be taken, since he had not forgotten his own marriage law. Though they were ruled just as strictly as other conquered territories, North Tower's officials did have some autonomy, and their local laws held water; so their recalling titles was perfectly lawful as well.

"My father has returned, but my pact with all Wintergreen stands yet, since it was put into effect while I was in my father's stead. If I marry before my pact is written out by King Slade, he will be ousted legally, and a war may be avoided. Now, I will only marry Nickole, who has melted my heart. That was my requirement, wasn't it? No other has done that, and time is running out. If the northern kingdoms have any hope of independence, it will not be realized under my father's reign. But under mine? Hearing of your cruelty to dear Nickole, who you have yet to raise a damnable charge against, I want no part of the North. Give her title back to her, see the marriage through, and hear nothing of us as long as we reign.

"Also, if it should please Nickole, give her father over to me so I can deal with him. If he has been cruel to her, I will be doubly cruel to him; but if he has been kind to her, I will show him my kindness because of the daughter he raised."

The northern peoples were careful to listen to his proposal, and it pleased them. To be rid of Nickole and that wicked doctor, they agreed to every condition.

So Prince Joseph finally claimed a bride, and was married into the kingship.

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 **AN: FYI, the next chapter (the final chapter) will be posted on Sunday. It will be the shortest.**

 **Did this have enough romance in it? I just realized how NOT romantic I am! XD But I did sneak some sweetness into Joseph's dialogue. When he speaks of the crown, he speaks of himself. Also, I realized that it seems like Nickole had no say in the marriage, but she did. If you remember, she was PRETTY disappointed when she wasn't chosen. Let that sink in. There's a lot of subtlety in this story.**

 **Thank you for reading, and, uh, have a good night.**


	4. Fall - Epilogue

**AN: This is it. A 500-word chapter to wrap it all up. An epilogue, like the ones I've read in actual fairytales. I thought, "Hey, I've got alot of loose strings to tie up, and I don't want to leave anything unresolved. I wanna reveal why Slade left, and what happened to the North. The best and tidiest way to do it is with an epilogue." So I wrote an epilogue. Hope it doesn't suck. :3**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own TT.**

 **Thanks for reviewing again, PhoenixFlight! :D Yeah, I have a longer version in mind, although it's very different. Kole is a witch, and Jericho didn't have to go through all that red tape to become king. From the start, I have intended for this to be a short story, and it is! I will play around with JeriKole** **fantasy in the future, but this fic will remain unaltered. I'm pretty flattered that you want a longer version, but (trust me) it's better this way. I kinda suck at long stories. XD**

 **Here's the end...**

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Fall - Epilogue

North Tower never did gain freedom during King Joseph's reign, though not for lack of trying. The noblemen of the toppled Arc Kingdom had all to gain and nought to lose by splitting away from the Kingdom Wintergreen. They would become dukes and princes, or so the old royal bloodline and its heirs swore to any noblemen who might support the reestablished throne. The masses, however, resisted secession. The new king was kind, and all his domain had soon learned it. Evidences of his compassionate heart immediately were seen where the poor were fed and clothed, and where justice was impartially dealt. In fact, the common people of Wintergreen further reasoned, if one had studied close enough, he could have observed King Joseph's charity while he had been yet a prince ruling in his father's place.

As for former king Slade, King Jericho demanded that he be imprisoned for his warcrimes. Despite the best efforts of the crown and the kingdom, Slade never was caught. He lived out his life in solitude, regret, and incessant fear. His final years of precious life were spent nobly, caring for his illegitimate daughter Rose, who had been living with her detestable mother in the Orient until Slade had retrieved her. Slade had plotted that she would live quietly within his kingdom's grounds, and perhaps, if he deemed her worthy, succeed him and Joseph to become the queen of Wintergreen. Neither dream would ever be realized: Rose resembled Slade's merciless character too much to live peaceably anywhere, and Nickole held the title Queen of Wintergreen for decades.

The royal marriage helped King Joseph's fragile condition. He used his greater kingly power to atone for the many crimes that King Slade had committed, which put at ease his guilty heart. Living conditions in the territories improved vastly because of his wise policies, and no war was ever declared without just cause and popular support. With nothing to burden his overactive conscience, King Jericho proved to be an even-tempered, dependable leader, so unlike his father.

Soon following his marriage to Nickole, King Joseph discovered on her naked back irrefutable evidence of her despicable father's abuses; they were many. The horrible doctor was moved to a more humane prison, at his daughter's request, and died there.

At first, Queen Nickole wondered whether that husband of hers had married her by choice or out of necessity. She would fret and fear and flatter, but King Joseph, forever enchanted by her, truly loved his wife even when insecurities blinded her to his blatant affection. All who met the couple could testify that the king treasured meek Nickole more than gold or jewels. In patience, Joseph would bear her overbearing humility and self-deprecating nature, and in time he would slip a compliment in between her rants that would unravel her self-aimed insults. Consequently, Nickole's new love for Joseph bubbled and overflowed, violent and sincere, but soft.

The queen would rival her husband in charity and sweetness of heart, and in popularity, until their deaths.

THE END


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